


I Can’t Be Falling in Love with My Best Friend!

by vtn



Category: Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai
Genre: Angst, F/F, Internalized Homophobia, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-21
Updated: 2013-08-21
Packaged: 2017-12-24 05:40:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/936055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vtn/pseuds/vtn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's no way Ayase could have feelings for Kirino...right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Can’t Be Falling in Love with My Best Friend!

**Author's Note:**

> Fairly major spoilers up through S2E13.

It was about a week after Ayase had made up with Kirino after she had become addicted to her PSP game, and everything was going fine between them, so when Kirino walked up behind Ayase humming to herself, Ayase was not expecting to be smacked upside the head.

Tears stung Ayase’s eyes, and she spun around to face Kirino.

“Ayaseeeeee!” Kirino roared, her face livid with anger. She was holding up her PSP with that same game she had become addicted to (and that Ayase had to grudgingly admit was, in fact, more than a little addictive) on the screen.

“I-- I thought everything was okay between us.” Ayase felt herself starting to cry. Kirino continued on, ignoring her.

”Explain this!” She pointed at the game dialogue, the part that Ayase had mimicked word for word when she’d shown up at Kirino’s door. “You, who claim to hate eroge and anything to do with animation, you played all the way through Love Touch? And not only that, but you chose the yandere route?” The more Ayase cowered, the louder Kirino shouted, and the more her fists shook. “And then to-- to say those lines back to me?!” She spit on the ground and turned away from Ayase. “Disgusting! I can’t believe you. Pervert.”

So this was what it was like to be in the direct blast of the other Kirino, the Kirino who wasn’t cute and polite and helpful, but a terrifying force to be reckoned with. 

In retrospect, maybe she should have realized what it meant that normally Kirino was only this way with her brother. But that was something Ayase tried to avoid thinking about.

\---

They didn’t speak of it much at all after that, at least not for several months. Ayase was starting to realize that Kirino could be that way - impulsive, capricious, her moods changing unpredictably.

The only thing that seemed to change after that was that sometimes Kirino would look at her with something in her eyes that Ayase couldn’t recognize. It was something that scared her, but also, in a way, intrigued her. To have Kirino’s attention fully on her for a moment, not distracted in a daydream of fashion or little sisters or trips to Akiba, was exciting. It made her heart pound. 

But it would always end the same way.

“What is it, Kirino?” Ayase would ask, making her voice as small as she could, wanting...she didn’t know what she wanted to hear Kirino say. 

“Nothing! Stop looking at me! Creep!” Kirino would shout, and storm off, her face as red as a tomato.

\---

Kyousuke could remind Ayase of Kirino sometimes. Usually he was almost like her mirror, her opposite; as straightforward as she was inscrutable, as ordinary as she was dazzling, as calm as she was emotive. But every once in awhile, something she would say would trigger the more Kirino-like side of him. It made Ayase strangely excited when she got him angry or overwhelmed - like maybe it was a sign that there was some truth behind his teasing and sexual harassment?

If so, it was a truth he wouldn’t admit to her, at the crucial moment. He didn’t even look her in the eyes when he told her there was someone else he had feelings for. Which had to be that odd, quiet little girl he’d spent the summer with and called his ex-girlfriend now. Didn’t it? Because surely it couldn’t be...she wouldn’t think about it. No.

Ayase would go to Manami, her wise surrogate big sister, nine times out of ten in this kind of situation. But something made her run for Kirino instead.

“Ayase,” Kirino said, eyes wide, looking a little surprised to see her friend at the door so distraught and out of breath. 

“Kirino, I...” she started, but couldn’t even finish without the tears coming back. 

“Ayase,” Kirino said, more resolutely this time, and grabbed Ayase by the arm and dragged her up to Kirino’s bedroom. On the soft, pink bedspread, Ayase sobbed, all of her emotion coming to a head, the realization finally hitting her like a punch in the gut that the months she’d spent caring for Kyousuke like she was his devoted wife had never made him realize the true depth of her feelings. And had never convinced him that he wanted to be with her that way forever. Now she would never have Kirino as her sister. 

Kirino rubbed Ayase’s back and didn’t even ask what was wrong until Ayase had calmed down at little bit, at least to the point where she could stop sobbing. She hopped off the bed and disappeared down the hall only to return with two mugs of hot cocoa from the kitchen with thick whipped cream on top. Ayase blew her nose as delicately as possible and picked up one of the mugs, the comforting smell making her appetite return. The drink was rich, warm and sweet.

“Haha,” Kirino said, giggling and rocking back and forth on the bed, “Look at that ugly mustache.” Ah, Ayase must have had whipped cream on her upper lip. Kirino dug her phone out of her pocket and started pointing it at Ayase. “They’d never let you model if they saw your face like this. Now smile!” 

“Die!” Ayase giggled, lunging for the phone and almost splashing her chocolate. They tussled for a few minutes and then Ayase raised her hands, asking for a truce. The two girls calmly sat next to each other on the bedspread and drained their mugs.

“Thank you for cheering me up,” Ayase said as she set her mug down on the floor, doing her best to smile at Kirino.

“Of course! You’re my best friend, so I’d always do that. And now you can tell me why you were so upset,” Kirino said, hopping off the bed and fixing Ayase in her stare, her little smirk almost catlike. “Don’t think you’re getting away that easy.”

Oh.

“I...” She’d have to go ahead and admit it. For some reason she was afraid to tell Kirino to her face. She looked over at Kirino’s plush octopus instead. “I confessed to your brother.”

Kirino slapped her.

Ayase almost teared up again, but she took a deep breath and faced Kirino. She had never seen Kirino this angry before, not even after the game addiction incident. Not even at her brother. Kirino was shaking too much to even speak, her hands balled into tight fists, her face white.

“How...” Kirino started, stammering. “H-How...dare...you.” 

The only thing that would stop Ayase from bursting into tears again now was for her to get mad. 

“You were the one who made me cook for him and do his laundry and keep him on track with his studies! You! And you thought, even with his sexual harassment, that nothing would happen? I thought you wanted this! I thought you were trying to make him love me! I thought you knew!”

“No!” Kirino shouted. “Never! I did that all because it--” She snapped her mouth shut and shook her head, like she couldn’t even speak what she was going to say next. “Well--because it--because it solved the problem that Kyousuke had! Because I knew you owed him the favor! To make him happy!” She clapped her hands together with a loud smack. “And you who were my trusted friend, thinking dirty thoughts the whole time! I said, how dare you?! Pervert! Die!”

Ayase couldn’t help voicing what she had held close to her chest the whole time. “You’re just a brother lover!” she shouted. “You want Kyousuke all for yourself, and you don’t want anyone in your way!” 

“No!” Kirino grabbed Ayase by her shirt and nearly lifted her off the bed. Her hands were trembling. “Idiot! Jerk! I didn’t want him touching _you_!” Then Kirino let go of her and scuttled backwards across the room to press herself against the wall, like a scared animal. She took a deep breath and looked away from Ayase. “I mean, because he’s a pervert with a lolita fetish,” she continued, almost too quickly. “And probably a siscon too, since you always call him onii-san. I bet he likes that too much. Gross.”

“Me?” Ayase pointed to herself. She was still fixated on that, not even daring to imagine what it could mean.

Kirino didn’t look at her, and wouldn’t answer. And normally Ayase would have to be content with that, but not today. Today she was filled with adrenaline, and she had to know. 

“What did you mean by that, you didn’t want him touching me? Why does it matter to you who I date?”

“Did he say no?” Kirino snapped.

“He said no,” Ayase said, levelly. “Tell me what you meant.” It was time to channel the yandere personality she had cultivated. “I have had a very bad day. I do not have patience for this. I will hurt you if I have to.”

“You already hurt me, constantly,” Kirino said, looking at the floor. “Nothing you can do now will make it any worse. So do your worst.” She stretched out her arms. Just the way--

“You’re too much like him,” Ayase said, before she could lose her nerve. 

“Huh?”

“You’re just like your brother. And that’s the problem. I like you too much. Maybe we shouldn’t be friends anymore.”

“ _Huh_?” Kirino echoed. She turned back to face Ayase now. She looked almost like something inside her had stopped working. Like the gears in her brain had just wound down.

“I--I don’t even know which one of you I truly wanted to be with!” Ayase shouted, and now the tears were threatening to come back. “And if you say ‘huh’ again I’ll really hurt you this time!”

“Are you confessing to me? Is this a joke? I don’t have time for games!” Kirino stared right at Ayase. 

“I don’t know! I mean--no! I wouldn’t say something like that to another girl, that would be...that would be...” Ayase shook. What had she done? What had she allowed herself to admit?

“Stupid!” Kirino said, and kicked the rug. She pointed at the door. “Get out.”

“No problem.” 

Ayase left. Now that she had acknowledged her feelings to herself, she would need time to face them alone.

\---

“It was true.”

Kirino showed up at Ayase’s door early the next morning. It was a Sunday and Ayase was sleeping in, since it had taken her hours to finally fall asleep.

And that was the first thing she said.

“It was true. Everything you accused me of. All of it was true.”

Ayase looked down at her feet and played with her fingers. 

“I don’t know what you mean...Kirino.”

“I was in love with my brother,” Kirino said, her voice so quiet Ayase nearly had to lean forward to hear. “And now I’m....not.”

“Good,” Ayase mumbled, “It isn’t right for a sister to love her brother. You could never be together, so...”

“So...” Ayase glanced up at Kirino to see her playing with her hair. “So come outside with me. I have something important to tell you.”

Ayase numbly followed Kirino out into the street in front of her house. Then Kirino grabbed Ayase’s hand tightly (and it was almost like giving her an electric shock, the excitement of that feeling) and dragged her into the alleyway at the side of the house.

And kissed her.

It wasn’t a chaste kiss, not the kind of kiss of true love that Ayase had always dreamed of. Kirino’s kiss was insistent, furious, her hands tangling in Ayase’s hair as she kissed her again and again. 

It wasn’t what Ayase had wanted.

But it was what she wanted now.

“I don’t love my brother anymore,” Kirino said, her face only inches from Ayase’s. Now they were looking each other right in the eyes, and Ayase was not afraid. “Because there’s someone else I love more. I love you.”

“I--I love--” It was hard for Ayase to even say it. 

“Shut up.” Kirino kissed Ayase again, leaving her hot and breathless. Ayase had never felt the way she felt right now. It was like dreaming. It was like being awake from a dream the first time. 

It was...something she could never do again.

\---

The week passed by, and the two girls barely spoke at all in school. 

“Did you two have a fight again?” Kanako finally asked Ayase toward the end of Friday, after tiptoeing around the issue for a while. “Jeez, you’re like an old married couple. So much lesbian drama.” She waved her hand around dismissively.

Normally Ayase would simply turn and blush, or smack Kanako when she started teasing them about being lesbians, but she broke down crying instead.

“Aw, crap, what did I do this time? C’mere.” Kanako dragged Ayase into the bathroom and made her splash water on her face until she had stopped crying. It seemed like crying was all she could do lately. She wasn’t used to her emotions being dragged around like this. And it was only worse since she had fled Kirino’s house without explaining herself.

“I...I can’t really be a lesbian, can I, Kanako?” Ayase sniffed. 

“No one actually cares if you’re a lesbian,” Kanako told her with a little shove. “It’s totally normal. In fact, it might end up happening to me one day. You know, lots of idols are secretly lesbian. When you can’t date boys sometimes you gotta just take advantage of what’s available. I did my research.” She grinned and Ayase laughed nervously, trying not to think about what Kanako’s ‘research’ entailed. Was everyone around her a pervert? “Anyway, I just want you and Kirino to get your crap together. I can’t believe I have to watch you all the time. You’re like kids.” 

Ayase smiled and wiped her eye. “You’re the one who’s like a little kid,” she said, pressing down on Kanako’s head.

“Ass.” Kanako stuck out her tongue. “But yeah, fine, what’s the deal? Did she do something completely insensitive as usual? Or did you go all judgmental on her, as usual?”

“N-no.” Ayase backed up a little, and stared at her feet. “It’s much worse than that this time. I think this might finally be the end of our friendship.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Kanako smacked Ayase upside the head. “What the hell’s gotten into you? Is this still about her anime moe-moe whatever? ‘Cause that stuff’s making me rich and famous, so I swear it isn’t all that bad.” 

“N-no, nothing to do with that!” Ayase turned around and looked at the wall. “I think I accidentally...confessed to her, Kanako. And she kissed me.” She flipped back around, her hands turning into fists. “I could just kill her.”

“That’s not a normal reaction. You are not a normal person,” said Kanako flatly.

“You aren’t going to make fun of me for your whole lesbian joke being...true?”

Kanako snorted. “It’s too easy a target. No fun that way.” She sighed, crossing her arms. “Look, the point is, you two are going to deal with your drama, whether you want to or not. Because I’m not putting up with you being like this.” Kanako pressed her finger into the center of Ayase’s chest. “Seriously, there is nothing you can do about it.” She grinned.

“You’re scary,” Ayase said, and she didn’t believe Kanako at all, but at least now she was smiling.

\---

Kanako invited Ayase to go shopping with her in Omotesando, “because c’mon, if you keep moping about all next week I’m gonna scream. Or puke. And nothing’s better than retail therapy.” It was a perfect ruse. Or possibly Ayase was just perfectly gullible.

Because there was Kirino, arms folded, tapping her foot, leaning against a wall when Ayase emerged from the subway. Ayase felt herself blush, and immediately wanted to run up and hug Kirino. At the same time, anger rose up inside her. Kanako was right. She wasn’t a normal person.

Speak of the devil--Kanako was right behind her. She donked Ayase on the head and laughed. 

“Haha, gotcha! So, not a date, okay, because I’m here. Now let’s go buy a bunch of crap and take pictures of ourselves.”

“Why would we be going on a date?!” Kirino shrieked. “What are you implying?”

“Oh, just that you two got it _bad_ for each other,” Kanako said. She whistled. 

“There’s no way I could be in love with her!” Kirino persisted. Ayase’s stomach dropped. She turned away so that no one could see her reaction. “She’s my best friend! And a girl! That’s disgusting! Idiot!”

“Whatever, we’re going shopping,” said Kanako, grabbing Ayase and Kirino each by an arm and forcibly dragging them toward the shops.

Maybe there was a world, Ayase allowed herself to think, as they moved from shop to shop, excitedly shuffling through racks of clothing and pointedly ignoring each other, where today could have been a date with Kirino. Maybe if she’d been a boy - but there was no way she could be a boy, she was a girl through and through. Maybe if Kirino had been a boy - but it was the same way, too impossible, too ridiculous to imagine. Kyousuke was the closest thing to a male Kirino and even if they were similar in some ways, where it really counted, they weren’t the same at all.

Sure, she hated Kirino’s creepy games about molesting children, but they worked together, they both loved running, they both loved clothing and jewelry, they had even tried out the same perfume within minutes of each other in a boutique that was too overpriced even on Ayase’s modeling wages.

“You should buy her something,” Kanako said quietly into Ayase’s ear, making her jump and pulling her out of her own mind.

“I can’t do that!” Ayase whispered sharply back. 

“You know she loves gifts...” Kanako teased. “I bet it would make her really happy...”

“I just can’t,” Ayase said.

She wanted to, though. She did know how much Kirino loved gifts - she remembered the times Kirino had been on creepy “dates” with her own brother - ugh - and how Kirino had made Kyousuke buy her so many things. (Well, maybe that was the one upside, she allowed herself to admit. She’d gotten Kirino to get over her incestuous feelings, and if there was one thing more unnatural than being homosexual, it had to be that.)

She even paused over a delicate green scarf that would look beautiful next to Kirino’s hair, and contemplated it, but in the end she could only shove her hands into her pockets and think how unfair it all was.

In a quiet green park the three of them paused; Kanako sighed and said “Okay, I gotta pee,” and both Ayase and Kirino protested that that was way too much information. But then they were alone together again.

“Ayase,” Kirino was quiet, nervous, sidling close to Ayase and glancing around to make sure no one was watching them. “I. Wanted you to have this.” She placed a small box into Ayase’s hands. The brush of her fingers against Ayase’s palm made Ayase’s anger evaporate and turn into longing for just a few more seconds of that touch.

It was the perfume from the shop.

“This is too expensive,” Ayase said, not looking at Kirino. “You have to take it back.”

“You’re worth it,” said Kirino, simply.

Ayase paused, letting the joy at hearing that fill her for a brief moment. But. “You can’t make this better by giving me things,” Ayase said. 

“Just take it.” Kirino raised her voice a bit now. “I don’t care if it makes things better. I don’t care if you like it at all. Take it and throw it away, see if I care. Is that always how you act when someone gives you a present?”

“You know it’s not!” Ayase said, shocked. “Kirino, why are you mad at me? There’s nothing else we can do. We can’t be lovers. You know it isn’t right.”

Kirino fumed, looking like she would strike Ayase at any moment. But instead she wrapped her arms around Ayase loosely, burying her face in Ayase’s hair and breathing in. Ayase went stiff. She couldn’t quite bring herself to push Kirino away, but she definitely couldn’t make herself return the embrace.

“I hate you,” Kirino said softly.

“I hate you too!” Ayase said, louder. That was so much easier to say than the alternative.

“Why can’t you just die?” Kirino’s voice stayed gentle. Ayase knew she meant it about as much as Ayase herself did.

“I wish I could. Maybe we could hold hands and jump off a bridge together. It would be romantic.”

Kirino let go of her and pushed her away, a look of scorn on her face. “That’s right, I should have remembered you were a yandere! If that’s your idea of romance...!”

Ayase couldn’t help it. She burst into giggles. She laughed so hard she could barely stand up. 

“What can we do?” she asked Kirino, wiping a tear of laughter from her eye. “I can’t help this. I’m happy around you. I’m me around you. I can’t even stay angry with you.”

Kirino pointed behind Ayase. Ayase looked over and saw Kanako approaching them. But then Kanako turned around and started walking the other way.

“She knows,” she whispered to Kirino.

“What?!” Kirino shrieked. Then she looked thoughtful. “She knows, and she doesn’t care?”

“She wants us to be happy,” Ayase said. She took Kirino’s hands in her own, partially to steady herself. She was shaking from nervousness. “I guess I want that too. I don’t know if this will make us happy, but...maybe we can try?”

Kirino nodded slowly.

“I still don’t know if I believe that homosexuality should be acceptable,” Ayase said cautiously. 

“Stupid,” said Kirino. She pulled her hands away and folded her arms. “Gay love is natural. It’s even more pure than hetero love.”

“I think you’re crazy,” Ayase countered. “But I don’t know what to do. Being in love with a girl is wrong. But not being in love with you is even more wrong!”

“You said it,” said Kirino. “Thank you.” Ayase stared at her. “You said you love me.”

“I guess I did.”

“Is it true?”

“I don’t...” But she couldn’t lie to Kirino and tell her she didn’t know. Lying was the worst thing of all. “It is true.”

“Then we’re stuck,” Kirino said, nodding firmly. “You’re my girlfriend now. As hard as it is for me to say that. So deal with it.”

“I-I’m your--” Thankfully, Ayase was interrupted before she had to go through the agony of forcing herself to say it.

“Sorry, guys!” Kanako raced toward them, grinning. “It turned out I had to do number two, too.”

“Gross!” Kirino said and threw Kanako’s shopping bags back at her. “You can’t just tell me that!”

“Blah blah, you two just can’t deal with real life.” Kanako sighed and took her bags. “Nice perfume, Ayase. When did you buy that? I didn’t notice.”

“I didn’t!” Ayase said, loudly, gripping Kanako’s arm. “It was a gift from--from--from my girlfriend!”

“Freaking finally!” Kanako put one arm each around Ayase and Kirino’s shoulders. “I was getting ready to kill you two. If you hadn’t talked it out just now I think I would have tied you up and forced you to.”

“So you lied about going to the bathroom, huh,” said Kirino. “That makes it even more gross and unnecessary.”

Kanako stuck out her tongue. “That’s what friends are for.”

\---

[19:45] Ayase: There’s something I need to talk to you about.

[19:46] Ayase: This is very serious so please listen with an open mind.

[19:51] Ayase: But because you are my onee-san I want to be completely honest with you and tell you the things that are on my mind.

[19:58] Ayase: Please understand.

[20:30] Manami nee-san: Ayase-chan, I think I might already know what it is. 

[20:32] Manami nee-san: Are you planning to confess your feelings to Kirino?

[20:38] Ayase: Actually...

[20:41] Ayase: Actually we are going out. Already.

[20:41] Manami nee-san: Ayase-chan, I am so happy for you!!! <3 ^_^

[20:43] Manami nee-san: I think that you and Kirino are good for each other.

[20:43] Manami nee-san: She helps you be more honest and outgoing.

[20:45] Manami nee-san: And when Kirino is with you, she seems calm and happy. You remind her to be a good friend and take care of the ones she loves. I’ve always hated the person she became around her brother. With you she’s back to the person she used to be, before their relationship became distant.

[20:46] Manami nee-san: So I wish you both happiness.

[20:56] Ayase: It doesn’t bother you then? That it means I’m...

[20:57] Manami nee-san: Of course not! I just want my little sister to be happy ^_^

[20:58] Ayase: …

[21:00] Ayase: Thank you, onee-san!!

\---

Because Ayase was Kirino’s girlfriend now, Kirino demanded that she go to dinner at the Kousakas’ home. Kirino rolled her eyes when Ayase protested, saying that she didn’t have to worry, her family wouldn’t ask about their relationship; dinner was just an important thing to do even if from an official standpoint they were still just friends.

But Mrs. Kousaka was frighteningly perceptive, and she watched the two of them with eyes like a hawk’s throughout the whole dinner, and finally asked the question as they were eating ice creams for dessert.

“Are you sure that you and Ayase are only friends? You seem very close.” Kirino’s mother smiled - too tightly, and Ayase nearly jumped out of her chair. It was obvious Mrs. Kousaka was uncomfortable. She didn’t want to hear the real answer. And Ayase didn’t know what she would do if she did. Ayase bit the inside of her cheek to keep from crying out, not sure if her impulses would lead her to deny everything and risk hurting Kirino, or admit everything...and risk hurting Kirino even more.

Kirino squirmed in her seat and giggled, looking twice as uncomfortable as her mother, waving her hand dismissively. “Of course we’re very close! Ayase...Ayase is...” And then Kirino somehow, the way she always did, had the perfect answer: “Ayase is like a little sister to me!”

Ayase nodded swiftly, still biting her cheek. She could feel the color draining from her face. Did she want Ayase to do all of the dirty, perverted things that the little sisters did in Kirino’s games? And then she felt herself blush - if Kirino asked her to, would she even say no?

That was the one thing that still scared her. The things that people did in homosexual relationships seemed unspeakable. 

She had to confront Kirino. 

They finished dinner and gone back upstairs to read magazines and do each other’s hair and makeup. 

“Kirino,” she mumbled, standing on the floor in Kirino’s room. It seemed wrong to sit on the bed, now that they were dating. It was too suggestive. She took a deep breath, looked Kirino in the eye, and shouted out loud. “Do you want to do perverted things to me?”

“Shut up! Idiot!” Kirino whispered sharply as she clamped a hand over Ayase’s mouth. Her rough touch made Ayase blush. “You can’t let anyone hear us.” She let Ayase go, and Ayase nodded and continued in a whisper.

“Kirino, I heard what you said at dinner. About me being like a sister to you.” She had to swallow to keep from raising her voice. “Does that mean you want to touch me in dirty ways? Like the sisters in your games?”

Kirino made a face and crossed her arms. “What kind of person do you think I am?”

“E-eroge master,” Ayase said, stifling a giggle. Kirino’s eyes narrowed.

“Did you get that from Kyousuke?”

“Maybe.”

“Anyway, I’m not a pervert!” Kirino said, a little louder. Then she sighed. “Okay, I’m a little bit of a pervert. But only in games! I know the difference between games and real life. I know that...I know that it’s not…” She looked thoughtful. “It’s not a prize,” she said, waving her hand dismissively. “Getting to touch you isn’t a prize for winning. In real life there aren’t achievements or goals or 100% completion.”

Ayase nodded. 

“But you look disappointed.”

“Do I?” Ayase gasped.

“Maybe you wanted me to do something dirty,” Kirino said, a smile creeping onto her face.

“I--I don’t--I mean--well.” Ayase took another deep breath. She wasn’t used to being completely straightforward with Kirino and sharing her thoughts like this. But if she loved Kirino, she had to be her true self. “I don’t know - if I want that - yet.” She nodded, almost confirming it to herself as much as to Kirino. “I am not even sure that I ever will want that.”

Kirino blew air out her nostrils and crossed her arms. “I told you I’m not like that. I’m not the kind of girl who makes people do things.”

“Unless it’s your brother,” Ayase said quickly. That was what made her worry.

“I just make him carry things for me and buy things, nothing--ew--nothing creepy!” She shook her head, her long hair swinging from side to side. “Look, that’s the number one lesson of eroge. If you become a rapist, or molester, or any kind of creepy pervert you always get a bad ending. Never do anything a girl doesn’t want you to do!”

“I thought you said you know the difference between games and real life.”

“I also know when they’re the same,” Kirino countered.

“So,” Ayase said, picking up the earlier thread she’d left behind, “Please be patient.” She clasped her hands together. “Please wait for me. And let me show you when I’m ready.”

“Kissing, though?” Kirino asked.

“What about it?”

“Are you ready for that?” She looked a little scared. Ayase remembered the kiss they’d shared just the other day. “Are you ready for me to, when no one’s watching I mean, to kiss you and hold your hand? It’s our high school romance. That’s all I want so far. But…” She looked at the floor, although not before Ayase noticed her eyes were watering a little bit. “I do want that.”

Ayase took Kirino’s hands again. “It’s okay. I want it too.” 

“Kiss me, then,” said Kirino, and then she looked up at Ayase and made it into a question. “Will you?”

And Ayase did.


End file.
